''Princess Tarakanova'' is the most famous painting by the artist

Konstantin Flavitsky Konstantin Dmitriyevich Flavitsky (; – ) was a Russian painter, best known for his history paintings, typical of late Romantic style. Biography Flavitsky received his art education at the Imperial Academy of Arts, and was a student of ...

. Completed in 1864, the painting depicts the story of

Princess Tarakanova Princess Tarakanova (c. 1745 – ) was a pretender to the Russian throne. She styled herself, among other names, ''Knyazhna Yelizaveta Vladimirskaya'' (Princess Elizabeth of Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir), ''Fräulein Frank'', and ''Madame Tré ...

, who was imprisoned during the reign of

Empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

. Flavitsky's use of light and shadow and attention to detail in the painting earned him the title of professor of historical painting, and it remains one of his most famous works.

Plot

The plot for the painting was based on the legend of Princess Tarakanova's death during the flood in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

on September 21, 1777 (historical records show that she died two years before this event). The canvas depicts a

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early ...

, with floodwaters raging outside the walls. On a bed, a young woman stands, trying to escape from the water that is flowing through a barred window. Wet rats emerge from the water, crawling towards the prisoner's feet. Although the legend about Tarakanova's death during the flood is not true, it was this version of her death that was fixed in the popular memory, thanks to Flavitsky. For example, in the poem "Soul,"

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

writes: "you fight like Princess Tarakanova fought when the ravelin was flooded in February."

Creation history

The story of Princess Tarakanova, a social climber who claimed to be the daughter of Empress

Elizabeth Petrovna Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous constructio ...

and sister of

Yemelyan Pugachev Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachev (also spelled Pugachyov; ; ) was an ataman of the Yaik Cossacks and the leader of the Pugachev's Rebellion, a major popular uprising in the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great. The son of a Do ...

, served as the basis for creating the painting. By order of Empress Catherine II, she was arrested and in May 1775 was taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress, where she was subjected to lengthy interrogation by Field Marshal Prince Golitsyn, during which she gave various testimonies. She died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

on December 4, 1775, hiding the secret of her birth even from a priest. The painting was created in 1864 and was first exhibited at the Academy of Arts exhibition in the same year.

Vladimir Stasov Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov (also Stassov; ; 14 January O.S. 2 January">Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 2 January/small> 1824 – 23 October .S. 10 October/small> 1906), was a Russian critic of music and art. ...

, a famous critic of the time who highly valued the painting, called Flavitsky's canvas a "miraculous painting, the glory of our school, the most brilliant creation of Russian painting." The painting was acquired by

Pavel Tretyakov Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov (; 27 December 1832 – 16 December 1898) was a Russian businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist who gave his name to the Tretyakov Gallery and Tretyakov Drive in Moscow. His brother Sergei Tre ...

for his collection after the artist's death.

Other versions

1862 Flavitsky Prinzessin Tarakanow anagoria

In the Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, the presumed original version of the painting, created in 1862, is stored. The differences lie in the size of the canvas, which is 214 × 147 centimeters, and in the figurative interpretation: the face and figure of the young woman do not yet convey the tragedy and final despair. Therefore, the version from the Tretyakov Gallery collection is a later copy. Another version from 1864 is stored in the ,

Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...

. It is smaller in size, measuring 123 × 94 centimeters. Additionally, in the

Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (), formerly known as the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (), on Arts Square in Saint Petersburg, is the world's largest depository of Russian fine art. It is also one of the largest art museums in ...

, there is the "Head of Princess Tarakanova," a study for the painting of 1863. It measures 44.5 × 33.5 centimeters and was donated to the museum by in 1903.

References

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External links

Mikhail Longinov discusses the issue of the veracity of information about the death of Princess Tarakanova in the flood of 1777

1864 paintings Russian paintings Oil on canvas paintings Collection of the Tretyakov Gallery